


Changing Fate

by Tillspenn



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Confused Hermione Granger, F/M, Obsessive Tom Riddle, Time Travel, Time Turner (Harry Potter), dangerous love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:09:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25626460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tillspenn/pseuds/Tillspenn
Summary: Surrounded by all the death and destruction of the Hogwarts battle, Hermione did what most other people wouldShe made a wishUnlike all those other people though, hers came trueand now she is stuck 50 years in the pastand if anyone can change fate it's her
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Tom Riddle
Comments: 5
Kudos: 71





	1. Chapter 1

Bad things happen to those who meddle with time.

I honestly don’t think I ever realised how true that was. Which, when you look back at my school career you will think I am lying, I mean, honestly, how can someone who spent her entire third year replaying hour after hour using a time turner not have a good grasp of the problems that time travel can cause.

I would think the same, I did think the same. I thought that I would be able to control it. I thought I was too clever to be caught out by it. I was wrong.

My story starts when I was on the run. Back when I was seventeen. Back when I thought the world was much more clear cut than I now know it to be.

We, that is me, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, my best friends, we had just pulled off the now infamous Gringotts heist. We had gotten the cup horcrux, lost our only way to destroy it, thanks to Griphook stealing the Sword, and escaped on a dragon.

What Harry and Ron hadn’t realised was that I had also picked up something else from the Lestrange Vault. It had caught my eye, glittering in the light.

A timeturner. I thought they had all been destroyed, back in fifth year when we went to the department of mysteries. I don’t know why I took it, I just couldn’t stop myself. It was different to the timeturner I had previously used, that one was a golden colour, this one was a deep midnight blue.

I can’t tell you what was going through my mind when I checked to make sure that the boys weren’t watching me before swiping my hand out and grabbing it, I just did it, like I was on autopilot.

Everything happened really fast from that point. Harry had a vision of Voldemort finding out about the theft, him realising what we were up to and his thought lingering on Hogwarts led us to just where the final hiding place was. Before we knew it, we were back at school in the room of requirement, surrounded by brave, scared students all keeping safe from the deatheaters who were running our school. Another Blur and then we are in the shrieking shack, watching Nagini kill Snape, standing over him as he dies, giving Harry the final piece to the puzzle that was his life with his dying breaths.

The next clear memory is back in the great hall, looking down on all the bodies of people we had lost, and the battle wasn’t even done yet. Looking at Fred and Remus and Tonks, I remember thinking that this was so wrong, that we had lost too much already, that how much more can we bear to lose. I didn’t know where Harry was, but I was scared. I knew that something else was going to happen, something terrible.

I lost Hope.

It was the first time that I had, looking around at the lifeless bodies and the people crying over them and I thought we can’t do this, we can’t win. How can we possibly beat a monster that can do this, that can inspire such heinous acts. I remember wishing that someone had stopped him years ago, before he got this powerful, I remember wishing that he was nothing but a footnote in History by the time I was even born.

What I didn’t remember until it was too late, was that that strange timeturner was still in my pocket, and that while I was wishing for this, I was fidgeting with it.

No I didn’t remember this until much later.

All that happened was I closed my eyes and one second I can hear all the noise of war and grief surrounding me

And the next

Silence


	2. Chapter 2

I open my eyes, with a little apprehension and look around.

I’m still in the Great Hall but I’m alone, completely alone.

All the bodies that were on the floor have disappeared, in fact the Hall looks just like it used to, back before this year. The tables where set out as if ready for serving breakfast in the morning.

I look up at the ceiling and see the enchantment showing a clear night sky with countless pin pricks of white, silvery light and a big beautiful moon off to the side. Everything seems so peaceful, so normal.

This is all so confusing.

I pull my hands out of my pocket and realise that I am holding something in my right hand. I look at it and realise with a sinking feeling that it is the timeturner I took from the Lestrange Vault.

I don’t know exactly what has happened, but I do know that things don’t change like this in the blink of an eye.

And the Hall.

The Hall looks so pristine, so intact, I honestly can’t believe a battle took place here.

Not yet.

I must be in the past.

Now I have to work out how far in the past.

Normally a timeturner would only take you back a matter of hours, but it must be longer, the battle has been raging on for many hours.

And just look around. There is no evidence at all of Dark Arts, the hall looks like it did back when I was last here.

So definitely longer than a school year.

This is dangerous.

The further back in time I have gone, the more ways the timeline can be messed with. The more bad things that can happen.

Though what is worse than the time I just left I don’t know.

First things first, I need to work out exactly when I am.

I also need to find a hiding place. I can’t risk being found by someone right now, not until I know more about where I am, so I can try and form a plan.

And the best place to hide in Hogwarts in my time or any time – The Room of Requirement.

So I head there.

I go quietly, wishing that I had Harry’s invisibility cloak, avoiding as many portraits as I can along the way. The last thing I need is for one of them to recognise me and go and report me to Professor McGonagall.

Or worse, report a stranger in the castle – now that is a thought I don’t want to entertain. Surely I can’t have gone that far back.

I make it to the seventh floor and walk past the blank wall three times, thinking about my need of a safe haven to stay.

A door appears and I open it and walk inside.

In the room, there is a desk with a chair, a book case filled with worn texts, a very comfortable looking bed and a grand, lit fire place.

I walk over to the bookcase and see that all the books are about similar topics, all revolving around time travel. I pick up one book and open it up, I see something that scares me a little, but before I allow the thought to form, I grab another and open it, and then another, and another. Once I have gone through about half of the books, I finally start to accept what I am seeing.

This is the room of requirement, it knew I needed these books to help me sort out this mess. So it stands to reason that the books it would give me would be the most up to date it could.

Not one of these books was published after 1942

Not one

But it can’t be true

It can’t

I can’t have travelled back over 50 years. It’s impossible. Time turners are not capable of that. That is not what they were designed to do.

Even if they were, why would it bring me this far back? There is no way I turned it in my pocket for what – 440,000 times, I would still be back there turning it now. Plus I don’t think I did turn it, I was just holding it, maybe fidgeting with it in my pocket.

I suddenly feel exhausted, so I walk over to the bed and flop down on it. I want to cry, not very strong, independent woman like I know, but I just don’t know what I am going to do. I am stuck approximately 50 years in the past, I don’t know how and why I came to be here. I don’t know how I am going to get back, or what I will get back to, because honestly all I can remember is our side losing. I am on my own, everyone I know won’t even be born yet.

I don’t know what to do.

I don’t have a plan

I don’t know where to start with a plan

In my desolation, I do the only thing I can

I fall into a fitful sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi   
> Thanks for reading, I have big plans for this story.
> 
> I made a mistake with the dates so I went back and changed the publication dates of the books from chapter 2 to no later than 1942
> 
> \----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wake up slowly, my head is hurting and my eyelids are heavy.

I wish I could just stay sleeping, so that I wouldn’t have to deal with all this.

I wish, I wish, as soon as I think those little words I have a sudden memory. A flash back to the Hall, where it happened. To the sounds of war surrounding me, the smell of death, I remember closing my eyes to get a little reprieve. I remember wishing something. What was it? Something about Voldemort being a footnote in history, that this could have been stopped before it started. Then I was here, in this time. Was that it? Was it the wish that activated the timeturner? It’s the only thing that makes sense, it’s also too much of a coincidence to be sent back this far.

From what Harry told us about his lessons with Professor Dumbledore, I’m sure this is the time when Tom Riddle attended Hogwarts.

Dumbledore, of course, Professor Dumbledore was the transfiguration professor when Tom went to school, that’s what Harry said. I do know someone. I mean he won’t know me, and I will have to be extremely careful, but I don’t have to be completely alone.

I get out of bed and look around the room. On the desk I notice a tray filled with different foods, and a goblet sat next to it. As soon as I see this my stomach reminds me of just how needed this food is rather noisily. I go over and start to eat. I know I should be careful, Gamps Law states that the room couldn’t have created this and it had to have come from somewhere, but I am only human, and I haven’t eaten since before Gringotts. Merlin that seems like an age ago. It is obvious that someone knows I am here. Though I will find it easier to figure out who when my tummy is less empty.

Once I have eaten all that I can and drank down 3 goblets of what turned out to be self-refilling pumpkin juice I sat back and watched as the leftovers disappeared. House Elves. That must be it. Of course they will know I am here, they know everything. What is it they call this room? The come and go room.

I need to find Professor Dumbledore, now my mind is made up I just want to get to it. The only problem is I don’t know what the exact date is. If it is May, which would make sense if the timeturner worked in years rather than hours, there would be a lot of students out there and if I just go out it could get very complicated very fast. I daren’t make a move for fear of metaphorically stepping on a butterfly, but I have to do something. Somewhere out there in the future, the people I love are fighting and dying and I refuse to just hide in this room. I look back at the desk and realise just how dumb I am. The house elves know I am here. I can ask them for help. Though how does one summon a house elf? I may have done lots of research on house elves when I was founding S.P.E.W. but I don’t recall a way to summon one unless you were their master.

‘Hello? Is the Elf who fed me near? Please? I just want to talk’ I call out, I can’t think of what else to do. I look around and no one appears.

‘Please? Are you listening? I know I am a stranger but I need help, I promise I am not going to hurt you, or anyone’

‘Tricksy knows that Miss’

I jump out of my skin as a squeaky voice comes from behind me. I turn around and see a young female house elf.

I smile in what I hope is a kindly way at her.

‘Hello, Tricksy did you say your name was? I’m Hermione’

‘Hello Miss’ she squeaks back shyly.

‘Thank you for the breakfast’

‘Most welcome Miss, Tricksy was in the Hall when she saw Miss appear Miss, Miss looked hurt’’

‘I was Tricksy, were you not scared?’

‘No Miss, Tricksy knows Miss is kind, Tricksy can tell. Miss looked so lost, Tricksy knew she had to help Miss’

‘I’m very grateful, I’m sorry but I need to ask for a little more help Tricksy’

‘Of course Miss, whatever Tricksy can do to help’

‘Please call me Hermione, Tricksy. Can you tell me what the date is?’

‘It is June 19th 1944 Miss Hermione Miss’

So I was right, I had gone back over 50 years. Fifty Four to be almost exact. Though my thoughts about the timeturner turning back in increments of a year needs revising, as it should be 3rd May if that was the case.

‘Thank you, does that mean there is still a couple of weeks of term time to go?

‘Yes Miss Hermione Miss, another two’

So I am definitely not going to risk going out of this room just yet. That leaves one option.

‘Tricksy, is Professor Dumbledore the transfiguration professor here?’

‘Yes Miss, Master Professor Dumbledore is a great man’

‘Yes Tricksy, I believe he is. Please can I ask a favour of you? Would you please go and bring Professor Dumbledore here, I really need to speak to him, and for reasons I can’t really explain I can’t go to him’

Tricksy seemed to consider this, she looked at me with her big soulful eyes. It was like she was looking right through me, no more than that, right into me, down to the depths of what makes me who I am. After a while she smiles and leaves with a click of her fingers. I really hope that whatever she saw made her trust me enough to get Professor Dumbledore.

After just enough time to start me panicking. I really don’t have a plan B if this doesn’t work. I hear the crack of apparation, I look up and see that Tricksy is back and she is not alone.

‘Professor Dumbledore’ I breathe a sigh of relief.

‘Yes, though you appear to have me at a disadvantage Miss…?’

‘Hermione Granger Sir’

‘Ah, and what exactly are you doing in this school, I don’t recall seeing you before, and I remember all my students Miss Granger’ His tone is polite, but there is a definite bite to it.

‘Well Sir, I don’t know how to explain this, but you do know me, or rather you will, quite well.’

Before I can go any further, he cuts in.

‘I will? I take it that means you are from a future time?’

‘Yes Sir’

‘Do I need to tell you how dangerous time travel can be?’

‘No Sir, I didn’t intend to travel back here, in fact I’m not really sure how I did. All I know is that one minute I was in my time and the next I was here.’

‘I would wager that means you don’t know how to get back Miss Granger’

‘That’s correct. Professor the time I come from, it’s …’

‘No Miss Granger, I must insist that you don’t divulge any information about the future, you have no idea what changes could occur.’

I close my eyes and take a deep breathe. I know he is right, I have been worried about it since I got her, but seeing him alive and well, and also a fair bit younger, had been a shock and for a minute there I thought I could make it all better.

‘I know Sir, I’m sorry’ I walk over to the bed and retrieve the midnight blue timeturner out of my jacket pocket. ‘This is what brought me back. I didn’t know what it did, the only other timeturner I have seen was gold and you had to turn the egg timer part to travel back. I didn’t turn this one at all, it was in my pocket and I was holding it, I closed my eyes and one second I was in my time and the next I was here in the Great Hall’ I sit down on the bed whilst I am talking, suddenly feeling exhausted all over again.

Professor Dumbledore walks over and takes the timeturner off me, ‘I have not seen one like this before, and you say you didn’t turn it?’

‘No, like I said it was in my pocket, the same pocket I just took it out of’

‘I will do some research, and see what I can find out about it, I promise I will do all that is in my power to get you back to your time’ He smiles kindly at me.

‘You believe me Sir?’ I ask looking up into his eyes suddenly.

‘I must admit I do’

‘Thank you Sir’

‘Now all that remains is to decide what is to be done with you’

‘I thought I would remain in this room Sir, nobody can get into it while I am here, unless of course Tricksy brings you’ I nod to where she is standing in the corner of the room, so quiet I had almost forgot she was there.

‘Miss Granger, if you were only going to be here a couple of days I would agree, but unfortunately I do not know how long it will take to correct this, I am sorry to say it could be months or even years. I could not in all good conscience allow you to remain in here on your own, it is no place for a young girl’

‘What do you propose Sir?’

‘This School year is almost at an end, I think that if we cannot get you back to your own time by then, you should attend Hogwarts come September the First.’

‘Sir, is that a good idea, what if I change something’

‘That is a risk I believe we may be able to mitigate’

‘But won’t me just being there change the timeline, I wasn’t there the first time?’

‘Ah, but how do you know that, I know myself enough to know that I would always make this choice. I would never allow a student to wither away in this room for any length of time. Everyone needs to be around people’

‘That is assuming that I came here before’

‘That is what I believe, so this is what I would always do’

‘I have a headache’

‘That, I believe, is the normal reaction when we think too hard about time’ he chuckles.

‘You said we could mitigate the risk I pose, how?’

‘Ah, whilst I research this delightful object’ he holds up the timeturner, ‘I would like you to learn all you can about this time period, as well as what is covered in the syllabus for years 1 through 6 as you will be placed in Year 7. My aim is that you won’t stand out, well any more than a transfer student joining us in the final year would’

‘Oh, not at all then’ sarcasm wins.

‘We will come up with a good cover story, we have over two months after all’ His eyes twinkle.

‘I guess we do’

It’s going to be a long summer.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this update taking so long, had technology problems but hopefully all sorted now.   
> The aim is to get one chapter out per week.
> 
> So here it is
> 
> ***********************************************

The summer seemed to go by in the blink of an eye, and before I knew it I was standing outside the Great Hall with the first years, waiting for my sorting.

I had tried my hardest to get out of the taking part in the actual ceremony. Explaining to Professor Dippet that after losing my family in an altercation with Grindlewald sympathises, I didn’t think I would be able to cope with being the centre of attention by having my sorting take place in the great hall. He, however, was having none of it.

‘Miss Dumbledore, I understand that you are going through a terrible time, the loss of your parents in such needless violence is truly heartbreaking, but I would be doing you no favours by bending the school rules for you in this, whether at the sorting, or just turning up in a house, you will cause a stir, at least this way, I can introduce you properly and get the spotlight over and done with’

I knew he had a point, so I didn’t argue my case anymore.

When I met up with Professor Dumbledore later and gave him the run down of what had happened in the meeting he made it very clear that he agreed with the headmaster. So It was decided that my (made up) back story would be told to the whole school at the welcome feast, I would then be sorted, and join my house for dinner.

We were ushered into the hall by Professor Dumbledore once all the other years were seated. All the first years were sorted one by one until only I was left. Professor Dippet stood up, and the hall fell silent. 

‘Welcome back to all our old hands and welcome to the new! Before we go any further I am sure that a few of the more observant among you have noticed there is still one young lady waiting to be sorted, and I am sure that you keen observers have also taken note that she is not a first year. I would like to introduce you all to our new transfer student, Miss Hermione Dumbledore. Now Miss Dumbledore is joining us for her seventh year, due to a terrible occurrence that has left her without parents, which has made it impossible for her to carry on with her schooling at a different institution. I am sure you will all have lots of questions, but please try to remember that we are all people, and Miss Dumbledore has a lot of changes to get used to, so please treat her with respect and curtesy and allow her to find sanctuary within our walls. Now please Miss Dumbledore step up to the stool so we can complete your sorting’

Well that was a long winded way of just peaking everyone’s interest. All he did was allude to my parents death, and never even mentioned how I have the same surname as Professor Dumbledore. I am just going to get question after question for the foreseeable future I groan to myself as I walk to the stool. I can hear whispers going around the Great Hall, and I know they are about me. I glance helplessly to Dumbledore as I get to the stool and sit down, he just smiles at me with understanding shining in the depths of his eyes. If I had to guess I would say he was shocked at what Professor Dippet actually said in his speech, I think, like me, he was expecting more. Not that I can blame him, he did take a long time this past summer crafting the backstory for me as well as meticulously placing little tidbits of evidence around so that if anyone did decide to look into my past, they wouldn’t find anything to be alarmed about.

I feel the hat being placed on my head and hear it’s words inside my head

‘Ah, now you are a strange one, I see in your head that you have been sorted by me before, but I don’t recall, so you are definitely out of place, I see that you are a Gryffindor, but hmmm I don’t think that will be useful right now, you sit at a crossroads, you could be brilliant, but not back in Gryffindor, so where to put you?You have traits of Ravenclaw that is true, but no, for your future to be all it can be there is only one place for you, better be SLYTHERIN’ the last word was shouted loud for the whole hall to hear, and I feel my heart dropping into my stomach.

I can’t be a Slytherin. I am a muggle born for Merlins sake. How can I be placed in Slytherin in any time. All right, I know my back story in this time is that I am a Dumbledore. A distant relation to Professor Dumbledore, a pure blood, but that doesn’t mean that I should be a Slytherin, it’s all a lie. I walk over to my new table and take a seat with what I presume are the seventh years. I look around the table to see if I can recognise any features, being purebloods I am certain that there will be similarities to some of the Slytherins from my time. I’m right I see a lot of prominent features.

‘Welcome to our house Miss Dumbledore,’ a handsome looking pale faced blonde boy politely said to me, while the others looked on. This must be a Malfoy.

‘Thank you, please call me Hermione.’ I reply, hoping that it was the right thing to say. I have spent a lot of time this summer reading about 1940’s etiquette, but I don't think even that prepared me for the shock of being a Slytherin.

‘Hermione’ he repeats. ‘Allow me to introduce myself, I am Abraxas Malfoy, and this is Orion Black, Othello Nott, Carlos Avery, Benedict Lestrange and Tom Riddle’ he points at each boy in turn, when he gets to the last person, I try not to show any emotion, but it is hard. The handsome boy I am looking at is nothing like the monster I know in the future, not a snake like feature in sight, but there is no denying it, I know for a fact I am looking at the young dark lord. I knew it would happen, I had spent time this past summer going through the records of the students in the year I would be entering, I knew he was here. I just didn’t expect to be sat in his presence as soon as this, in fact I had made a whole plan around never capturing his attention. 

‘Hello’ I said to each boy as they nodded to me in return. Tom seemed to lose interest in me straight away, but I knew it must be an act, how can he have no interest in a person with the same surname as his most hated Professor.

‘If I may ask, with your name being Dumbledore does that mean you are related to our transfiguration Professor?’

‘Distantly’ I reply. ‘His father was my Grandfather’s brother’

‘I hope he won’t think poorly of you, being sorted into this house’ pipes up another boy, Orion Black

‘Why would he?’ I ask feigning ignorance.

‘Ah because he is the head of Gryffindor house, and there is quite a rivalry,’

‘Rivalry?’

‘Between the houses, there is a house cup competition, not to mention a quidditch cup.’

‘Sounds like a bit of fun’

‘Yes’ Tom finishes this conversation with that one word, his tone letting everyone know that it was time to change the subject.

I search for something to say, but luckily don’t have to struggle for long as Professor Dippet stands up again and the hall goes silent.

‘So now the sorting is all over with, I have a few start of term announcements to make before we can get to our lovely feast. All new students please be aware that the forbidden forest is so named for a reason, you must only enter it if you are with a teacher, other than that keep away. There is a full list of banned items in the caretakers office, and by the request of our esteemed caretaker, Mr Potts, now in each houses common room. Curfew is 9pm. Due to outside forces the number of Hogsmede weekends have been reduced, please keep an eye on your notice boards for details as these come up. Now, without any further ado, let’s feast’

He sat down and then the tables all filled with food.

I filled a plate with roast beef, yorkshire puddings and all the vegetables I could reach and started to eat, the food at Hogwarts always tastes so good.

‘Could you pass me the potatoes’ a black haired girl next to me asks. I nod and hand it over.

‘Thanks’ she puts a spoonful on her plate and hands it back so I can put it back in the space. ‘I’m Eliza Prince, by the way, we will be dorm mates’

‘Hermione Dumbledore’ I smile.

She nods and turns back to the girl on her other side.

***********************************************

After the feast was finished, we were all dismissed.

‘Allow me to escort you to the Slytherin part of this great school’ Abraxas says, holding out his arm with a great flourish. I smile and link arms with him and we head to the dungeons. I remember to keep a step behind him so as to not show that I already know my way around these halls. Whilst we were walking, Abraxas kept up a string of conversation about the areas and things we were passing, making a big show of helping me get used to this place. It is very strange, like he is being too friendly, trying too hard. I know that I am a new person in the last year so kind of like a shiny new toy, but even so. I just go along with it. I am going to be stuck in a house with a bunch of deatheaters to be, I need to make this as easy as possible for myself. 

Before I know it, we reach the entrance to the common room, which, unlike Gryffindor is just a bare stretch of wall. 

‘The password is Toujours Pur’ Abraxas leans over and whispers in my ear, though we don’t have to say it because we are not the first to get to here so one of the people in front has already said it. I shiver. Always Pure, of course. ‘It’s actually part of the Black family crest, something Orion is extremely smug about’ he carries on, still whispering in my ear. I have to make a concerted effort not to recoil.  
I nod, and indicate we should carry on in, he chuckles lightly and nods at me to indicate that I should go first. 

The password had opened up a door which led straight onto a stone staircase going further down into the depths of the castle. I take the stairs slowly, one at a time. I can feel Abraxas, directly behind me. There is something about him, since he whispered in my ear the goosebumps have been risen on my arms and I just feel uncomfortable.

When we get to the bottom of the stairs I am greeted by a low ceilinged, long rectangular room decorated in cold Slytherin green and silver. It is extremely different from the Gryffindor common room I am used to. So much so that for the first time since arriving in 1944, I feel as if I am in a completely alien place. I feel overwhelmed, and suddenly all I want to do is curl up and sleep, and hope that when I wake up, I will be in Gryffindor.

‘I am feeling rather tired, Abraxas, Could you point me to my dorm room?’ I make the effort and smile.

‘Of course, if you go through that curtain over there,’ he says pointing, ‘you will find some more stairs leading to the seventh year girl’s dormitory’

‘Thank you’ I continue to smile as I leave him behind. I feel his eyes on me until I disappear through the curtain.

I walk to the bottom of the stairs and open the door that I find there.

When I walk in, I notice two other girls are already there. The girl I passed the potatoes to, Eliza if I remember rightly and another girl, who looks a little like a young Bellatrix Lestrange

‘Hello Hermione’

‘Eliza’ I nod.

‘This is Clara Bell,’ she indicates the girl next to her.

‘Hi,’ I smile and Clara smiles back. ‘I’m really tired do you know which bed is mine?’

Eliza points to one in the corner and I notice my trunk at the end of it, now with the Slytherin crest on. 

‘Thank you. I’m just going to erm....’ I trail off and point over to my bed, they just nod at me. Clara has something like sympathy in her eyes, and suddenly doesn’t look so much like Bellatrix anymore.

I walk to my trunk, open it up and pull out my night things, feeling exhausted, if this is just the first day, I don’t know how I am going to be able to make it through many more. I hope we find a way back for me sooner rather than later.

*******************************************

An hour later finds me in my new bed, which is really comfortable, I mean wow, so much better than my Gryffindor bed, and I used to think that was the height of comfort.

I try to switch my mind off and go to sleep, I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow


	5. Chapter 5

I’m the first one in our dorm to wake up the following morning. I look around and notice that there are five other beds and all are occupied. I know who two of them are, Eliza and Clara. I suppose I should have made the effort to meet them all last night but I was just so exhausted after the sorting.

I grab my wash things from my trunk, and my clothes for the day and go to the bathroom.

When I have got in there, I stare at myself in the mirror for what feels like an age. I haven’t really looked at myself for such a long time. My hair is as bushy as it has always been. I wonder if it will ever settle down. I am 18 years old now, I had always thought it would do. I will have to do something about it, I can’t imagine any Slytherin girl would accept hair like this. I take out my toothbrush and start on my teeth. My skin is smooth, minimal blemishes, and I don’t even need to wear make up, in fact I would argue that I look better without it.

Half an hour later I walk out of the bathroom, with my hair tied back in a tight plait. It was the best I could do, but I will have to invest in some sleakeazy’s or whatever version of that is available now. I lay my robe out on the bed ready to put on over my school clothes, a skirt and stockings, I really am starting to hate some things about this time period. I feel uncomfortable as I slip on my school shoes, higher than I am used to, though not high heels, I wouldn’t be able to cope with those.

I see the other girls are starting to stir. I pick up the book I am in the middle of reading from my trunk, sit back on my bed and open it up.

‘Morning’ a voice from the other side of the dorm speaks up.

‘Morning’ I smile

‘I’m Aster Flint, I was going to introduce myself yesterday, but you were already asleep when we got back’

‘Sorry about that, it was a very strange day for me. I’m ...’

‘Hermione Dumbledore, I know’ she smiled

‘I’m ......’

‘Big news? Yes you are’ she giggles a little at the blush that appears on my face. ‘Please, don’t feel embarrassed, it’s just you are the first transfer student we have seen in all our time here, and you know what boarding schools are like, gossip spreads like wildfire, and is much more filling than breakfast’

‘Yea’

‘Don’t worry, I have a good feeling about you, I think you are going to fit right in.’

‘No offence, but you seem very friendly’

‘Let me guess, you have heard bad things about your new house.’

‘No, but I have read everything I could about this school when I found out I was coming here’

‘Reading? Maybe you should have been put in Ravenclaw’

‘Actually, that’s kind of what I was expecting’

‘Well don’t worry, the hat is never wrong’

‘Really?’

‘Yes’ she stretches in her bed. ‘I’m going to get ready now, if you wait we can go up to breakfast together’

‘That would be great, thank you’

I went back to reading my book, whilst the other girls started to wake up. No one else started a conversation with me, though Eliza and Clara both smiled at me as they went to the bathroom. I smiled back and carried on reading.

‘You ready?’

I looked up and Aster was stood over me waiting. I put my book down on my bedside table and got up. ‘Yes’ i smile.

‘We’ll get your robe on and let’s go’

******************************************************************************

Twenty minutes later finds us sat down in the great hall towards the same end of the table I was sat last night, and in the middle of a conversation with Aster about the fellow female Slytherins in our year, after her having got all her questions about me out on the way to the hall.

‘I’ve met Eliza Prince and Clara Bell briefly yesterday’ I tell her.

‘Right, they are friendly enough, but keep themselves to themselves, Eliza is the only daughter of the Prince family, a very old and important pure blood family, Clara is a member of the Bell family, not so prestigious, there is a lot of them around, but mainly pureblood, though there is some gossip about a muggle branch of there tree, but it’s never been definitively proved.’

‘And that would be bad?’

‘I know you are a Dumbledore, and if you are anything like your distant relation you will have a bit of a soft spot for muggles and muggleborns, but don’t make judgements on your fellow housemates for the way we think, the other houses treat us like we are nasty, bigoted evil little snits, but we have had experiences right through our history of why the muggle and Wizarding world should be kept separate’

‘I’m sorry, I’m just trying to understand, the wizards that killed my parents, they were supporters of Grindlewald and it just seems purity is his whole thing’

‘Where there are some supporters of Grindlewald, you will find most of us would rather just be kept separate from the muggles, not subjugate them. The people that killed your family have nothing to do with the people you will meet here, please do not pre judge us’

‘I won’t, I’m sorry’

She shook her head as to say case closed and then looked along the table. ‘So the other two girls from our dorm are sat over there’ she nods in the direction of two girls I recognise from this morning. ‘The one with the long black hair and wearing way to much eyeliner is Sylvie Black, you were speaking to her brother Orion last night, and Parnella Lovegood is the blonde sat on her left. Parnella is an interesting case, the Lovegoods are a family of pureblooded Ravenclaws, every single one has always been placed in that house, until Parnella the first ever Slytherin. It’s caused a lot of strife among her and her cousins, hex’s sent between them very often.’

‘What about to Slyvie, I take it the Blacks are a Slytherin family?’

‘Yes they are, Slyvie and Parnella have been tight friends from the start, the rumour is that they are very tight indeed’ Aster says with a strange look on her face, it takes me a short while to understand what she is getting at. I look back over at the girls and then back at her, ‘really?’

‘Yes, well that’s the rumour anyway’

‘Is it as frowned as here as it is on the continent?’ I ask, try to find out what her thoughts are.

‘Honestly, if it’s just a bit of fun, then no, but as they are both from pureblood families, though I’m not to sure about the Lovegoods, I know that the Blacks expect Slyvie to make a good match and produce lots of heirs.’

‘Oh’

‘Indeed. So that is the girls, and you met the boys last evening.’ She glanced in their direction.

‘I did, though some seemed friendlier than others.’ I commented. Trying to create an opening to get more information.

‘I noticed, Malfoy seemed very interested in you’

‘He was very helpful’

‘Very attentive’ she smirked.

‘I’m sure it is just his excellent manners’

‘Of course’

I giggle, I actually find myself giggling, I really do like Aster.

‘I think you have caught our illustrious head boys attention’

I know straight away who she is talking about, but I stay in character. ‘Sorry, who?’

‘Tom Riddle, you will have met him yesterday, he’s the tall boy sat next to Orion’

‘Oh,’ I look over at him. ‘He wasn’t very friendly yesterday’

‘What do you mean’

‘Just he didn’t talk to me much at all really, it was mainly Abraxas that spoke,’

‘He’s like that, perfect manners, hard working, kind of let’s his friends take the spotlight, the others look up to him. Slughorn loves him. Speaking of, here he comes with our timetables.’

I look towards the head table and see that Professor Slughorn is making his way over to our table, and starts handing out pieces of parchment.

‘Ah, Miss Dumbledore glad to see you are settling in and making friends so quickly.’ He says when he gets to us.

‘Thank you, Sir’ as I take my timetable from him.

‘As you will see, you have double potions this afternoon, I look forward to seeing how you perform in my class.’

‘I’m looking forward to learning from you Sir’ I smile.

‘Indeed, indeed’ as he carries on walking down the table.

‘I think you are going to do quite well in Slytherin, Hermione’ Aster giggles. ‘Well transfiguration first, better get going’

We stand up and head off to Professor Dumbledore’s classroom.

I turn back towards the table as I have a strange feeling that I am being watched, and I see Tom Riddle looking at me, he has an uninterested look on his face, but he is definitely looking at me. I get a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. I hope that Professor Dumbledore finds a way to get me home soon, because I don’t want to give this young version of Voldemort enough time to find out any of my secrets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise Tom will start to feature more from the next chapter. If anyone wants to leave feedback I would be grateful, I don’t know how the story is coming across. Thanks for reading, next chapter will hopefully be out at the end of this week


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